School Daze
by Rave The Rich
Summary: All Roads Lead to the Grand Festival side story, detailing how Conway and Holly got together while at a fall 2008 semester in the Rustboro Academy. Contains some shoujo-ai. Please read and review.
1. The First Day of School, Part 1

School Daze

Here's the first, I believe, example of BeautyandtheGeekShipping out there! For those who don't know, that's the ship that I personally named, for the pair of Conway and Holly. This is connected to the timeline of 'All Roads Lead to the Grand Festival,' so there will also be MinamoShipping, but in a minimal amount as Kelly serves a supporting role and May appears a maximum of three times. There will also be SchoolShipping (Joe/Giselle) and, if it really does exist, some one-sided TeenCareShipping (Brock/Holly) as well. I think that's about all for ships, so I'll just leave you with the fact that this is the story of how Conway and Holly got together at a semester in Rustboro Academy. It's a chaptered story and is rated 'T' for some language, thematic elements and intense battle scenes.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon, a creation of one Satoshi Tajiri, and is produced domestically (in the United States) by Pokemon USA/The Pokemon Company, and internationally by Shogakukan and OLM. I personally own nothing and make nothing by writing this. Please do not flame.

(Chapter 1- The First Day of School, Part 1)

* * *

What a first impression this particular gesture amounts to on a Monday morning. Well, for Holly, this is not exactly the case. This would be the first class that she's ever had at the Hoenn region's Rustboro Academy and she didn't want to be late getting from the dorms to the schools; this particular one being health and wellness. Due to her wish to get the semester off to as great a start as she could, she found herself alone in a small classroom with numerous workstations off to the side for what she assumes will be for the 'creation' process in a course entitled Nutrition 101.

Feeling that there is so much more to being a class Pokémon trainer than knowing where and how to attack, Holly took several different routes in her mission to become a better trainer overall. With her success in earning eight badges in both the Johto and Hoenn regions before her eighteenth birthday, classes here are at no cost to her, but even if they were, she'd be able to afford them without a problem.

While training has provided her a great cash flow since she began at age eleven, she feels that that would come if she were a trainer or a lawyer. She feels, though, that it is important for her to refine her skills against the most elite of competitors. With the Academy's numerous resources, it's her hope that she'll be able to do that, and impress more than just the fans of trainers with her new found talents.

'I will strive to be a great trainer,' Holly thinks as what appears to be one of her classmates, a teenage male, takes a seat one row behind her. He does this right after giving the tall carrot top a wave and saying hello. 'If nothing else, I'm sure something good can come of it, but I just have to impress. That's what it boils down to; if I impress in the tournaments and the conferences, Brock will have to take notice and that's when I'll take action.'

As the time ticks up to nine in the morning on this fifteenth day of September, more students file in for class. The room now has just over a dozen students, all of ages varying from twelve to just over thirty, though most of the students are in their mid to late teens, in a setting filled with an even number of males and females.

Some conversation happens between two of the males in particular. "So did you hear about our professor?" one of them asks.

"Not a thing, Alonzo," says another one, who is tanned to the point that he's almost orange wearing border shorts and a blue graphic tee to class.

"Well, Robbie, I heard that Professor Marin came all the way from Lilycove City and is supposed to be this absolute whiz. I'm talking about a real genius, but is only thirteen years old or something," Alonzo speaks, letting his buddy know about what he's heard about their instructor. Alonzo comes to class a lot less casually in a lime-green polo shirt and black jean shorts while wearing a pair of sunglasses on the top of his head.

Holly, hearing every word from these guys, really could care less about her professor's uniqueness, as long as she's fair to everyone. If that's the case, then her teacher could be nine or ninety-nine; she'll still treat the person with nothing but respect.

Then, just a minute before nine o'clock, their professor enters the room, though most people do not know this and feel that Kelly is just a well-adjusted Academy student. Her attire is appropriate, if not overdone. She wears a buttoned-down white shirt with a black tie and midnight-black slacks. Contrasting with this more than anything else are the clean, white tennis shoes she's wearing on her feet. Top off the ensemble with a black carry-on bag and you have the professor that Robbie and Alonzo were gossiping about earlier.

Putting her bag down on the desk along with her large glass of green tea, Kelly brings her hands together once, overlooks her class of students and their many differences upon first impression, and begins her 'first day' spiel. "All right, I think we can get started here. First off, welcome to the first day of the fall semester. This is Introduction to Pokémon Nutrition 101, section three. If you're supposed to be in section one, you missed it because that section begins at 8a.m. If you are in section two, then you have to wait for next class, in room 202. Is there anyone here that is scheduled for something other than section three?"

Asking the question, Kelly gets only blank faces in this crowd which is good given that no one went to the wrong place this morning. "All right. That sounds good everyone that isn't supposed to be here is not here. Now, I know what you were thinking when I first came in here; if you're wondering, yes, I am the law and this is my yard. I may be a young sheriff, but I'm as capable as any codger in this Academy, so try me if you must. You'll be in for a rude awakening."

This warning causes a few of her students to shake for a bit thinking that they might have picked the wrong instructor for what is supposed to be an introductory course. She shakes her head for a bit, however, before saying, "Now that I've gotten your warning out of the way, in all seriousness, I thank you all for signing up for this class. I know that a lot of people will tell you a lot of things about nutrition in Pokémon. Well, it's my hope here with my mother's work and me continuing to carry it on that I may convince you that a healthy Pokémon with proper nutrition is a powerful one that will help you in competition better than if you just spent all of your time training for upcoming tournaments.

"Here's a little background on me. Kelly Cruz-Marin is my name," she continues, putting the name down on the whiteboard along with some other course information. While doing this, she continues the introduction. "I'm one-half Spanish, one-fourth Norweigan and one-fourth Irish. I was born in Barcelona, Spain to a Pokémon event coordinator and a retired army sharpshooter and expert on PokéBlock. The many ways to work with berries and utilize their powers remain my specialty. Along with nutrition, I also teach PokéBlock, Poffins, and organic diet courses here at Rustboro.

"It's here where you all will help me lose my virginity," she speaks. Even with younger teens in the room, the remark does relax the room quite a bit after Kelly clarifies, "This is my very first year here at Rustboro Academy. I know I look young, but that's only because I _am_ young. I am fifteen years old and an alleged 'child prodigy', but above all else, I am qualified for the job. I love what I do because I feel like I hold the 'Ancient Pokémon Secret' and am giving it to all of you, whether you aspire to be doctors, excel in training or what have you. This course might seem run-of-the-mill, but I do my damndest to make sure it isn't, and that starts with the approach I take.

"Here, in this classroom, you can call me Professor Marin or Cruz-Marin at any time, and you can call me Kelly, or Professor Kelly, but only in this room. The department chairs are really anal about students showing teachers their proper respect and putting the titles ahead of the name; more than I ever would be, but they do pay my bills, so I don't want any of you to get in trouble for calling me the wrong thing at the wrong time. Just follow those rules and you'll be all right. Now to the matter of your syllabi.

"My classroom is green," and as Kelly further explains to the students, "and my assignments are also green. Your syllabus has been e-mailed to all of your BlackBoard accounts and you can check them in any school building with computers that have internet access. In there is also your first assignment due next Monday. All assignments will be e-mailed to me. I will not accept any hard copies in this classroom, but during posted office hours, I will take that as my only exception to the rule. All assignments are due at the end of business, that's 5p.m., on the date posted, unless otherwise announced. Is that all understood?"

Nodded heads and affirmations of 'Yes, professor,' are enough for Kelly to go over to her grade book and check the sheet that contains the class roster. "Okay, I'm sure you all know the drill; I call your name, just say 'here' and if you want, what you'd like everyone to call you here. Talina Acevedo?"

"Here."

"Always great to run into a fellow Latina. Brendan Burke?"

"Here. Call me Cody, though."

"It's done," Kelly says, marking the young teen as present. "Nick Claiborne?"

"Here."

"Robert Hulman, II?"

That would be the aforementioned Robbie, who squirms at his name, formal as it is. He responds, "Here, and I'd prefer to be called Robbie, professor."

"We all prefer a lot of things. In this case, you get it. Blake Jordan?"

"Here," says a tomboyish brunette in her mid-teens with a soccer ball by her desk.

"Kai Lomax?"

"I'm here," an older male speaks.

"Alonzo Moraes?"

"Here," he says. Afterwards, he gives his partner in practical humor a high five.

"I see that I have a pair, here," Kelly responds to this gesture of brotherhood. "Of what? That remains to be seen."

After some hearty laughter from the rest of the class, Robbie attempts to defend himself and Alonzo by explaining, "Oh, come on! What's life if you can't have a little fun now and then?"

"Good so long as it's not at the expense of this class, Robbie," she answers, catching onto his tactic quickly. "Now…Hayden Plant?"

"Here."

'Another unisex name attached to a girl,' the professor silently comments. 'But then again, I really shouldn't talk…even though I'm not talking.' Shaking her head, Kelly does the right thing and just continues to call the roll. "Okay, Holly Rockwell?"

"Oh, here!" she says, the process of roll calling becoming a bit of a bore for her.

"I know roll call can be boring, but please try and stay awake for these three minutes or so, Holly…and the rest of the class, for that matter," Kelly scolds. "Is that clear?"

"Yes, professor," Holly says, feeling about half her height at only three feet tall.

"Thank you. Now, moving on, Tina Sarmond?"

"Here," says a young blond girl with a nice tan, but a build like a stick.

"Rory Tennyson?"

"Here."

"Everett Vandenbosch?

"Yes, I'm here."

"And last but not least, Karim Young."

"Here."

"Thanks. Now while I strive for it, I can never be perfect. Redeeming myself, is there anyone's name I didn't call who's here?"

No response makes Kelly just a little bit happier than when she came into the room. Things seem to be going her way on this memorable first day. "Okay, I'm gonna probably be your favorite professor right here and right now. Your assignment is to go onto the BlackBoard website and print out the syllabus for your records. Show me it on Wednesday and you'll get full credit for this assignment. Get the textbook, _Nutrition for the Modern Pokémon, Fourth Edition_ by Wednesday's class, and you'll get extra credit, but that deal will still be intact until next Monday.

"Wednesday will be the day we go over items in the syllabus together in class. If you can't afford fourth edition, the third edition is fine. All they really do is change words around to make money off of you is all. So…with that said, everyone stand up. We're gonna break the ice here and we'll just go around the room one at a time introducing ourselves by name, age and telling everyone the one thing about you that stands out above everything else. Ready? Let's begin with Rory."

And so class began and Holly heard stories about how Everett flew planes to get to various events, how Rory loved to climb mountains as a hobby, tales of how Hayden is the most appropriately named girl in the class as she has grown gardens since she was three years old, and how Karim has been able to breed Pokémon with the best of them through scientific methods. Holly, having stood out as a trainer since she was young compared to her family, only had the fact that she was the youngest of a large family of children and being born on Christmas night.

It just didn't seem to stand out compared to the accomplishments of her classmates, even though she did go through league tournaments in two different regions. That, along with being called out for sleeping in class and for being the well-deserved but of a joke from the professor made her a bit red in embarrassment.

Should it not clear up and things get better, this might amount to a long semester for her. Oh, joy.

* * *

A/N: All right. We'll see what I can do with this. I'm aiming for about 15-20 chapters. Again, this is an 'All Roads' side story and next chapter will show Conway's first class of the new semester.

Until then, this is Rave!


	2. The First Day of School, Part 2

School Daze

It's Conway's turn here, as he goes to the first class of the first day of school! Enjoy, and don't forget to leave some correspondence in the form of a review.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon, a creation of one Satoshi Tajiri, and is produced domestically (in the United States) by Pokemon USA/The Pokemon Company, and internationally by Shogakukan and OLM. I personally own nothing and make nothing by writing this. Please do not flame.

(Chapter 2- The First Day of School, Part 2)

* * *

"Holy crap! Everyone's here for _one _class?"That's the reaction that seventeen-year-old Conway Ericsson has when he enters the lecture hall and notices the number of rows and that it goes back as far as his bespectacled eyes can see. If he had to take a guess, he'd say that over three hundred students have congregated here, five minutes before class actually begins, for the course, 'Pokémon Battling: Advanced Series'. Being a true aficionado for learning, he searches for empty in the front to take in as much of the lecture as he can, but to his surprise he can't find any.

"That's different," he comments as he heads for the stairs and finds that no seat is available for the first five rows. He has no choice but to take himself and his book over to the middle of the eighth row, where he'll still have a nice view of the hall and the instructions given that the whiteboard is covered by multiple projection screens in the left, right and center of the classroom.

There is a desk just in front of this setup a wooden podium with a microphone to the right of the viewing students in the audience as the clock ticks down to ten o'clock in the morning. One minute before class officially begins, a young woman dressed moderately in a blue skirt and white buttoned-down shirt with an extended collar topped off with a navy blue ascot enters the hall and stands directly behind the podium.

Without even saying a word, the crowd of students, more specifically, male students cheer and applaud the appearance of perhaps the most popular professor at the Rustboro Academy outside of the gym leader, Roxanne.

Despite what might appear to be an unruly mob of learners and pupils who came for more than just battle strategy, this professor has come prepared for such an initial response. In her right hand is a gavel, not unlike one found in a courtroom, but the idea behind its use is the same.

She bangs it on a flat surface of the podium three times before speaking into the microphone, "Order! Order, please! I want order in this classroom!" None of the hormone-charged males in the class, ranging from a prodigy at age eleven to a longtime stalwart in battles at age forty-five, want to get on the bad side of their very attractive professor. No sooner does she enter the picture and call for her class to be quiet and orderly than it happens.

Getting them to be quiet in a matter of a few seconds gives this young adult professor, Giselle, a great feeling of power and control. She gets a lot out of this aside from just teaching people many of the complex but surefire steps to being a top Pokémon trainer. Her experiences in working with beginner trainers over the years have helped her shoot up the ranks unlike any other instructor specializing in battle. Along with that, it has prepared her for trainers that have made their way through and completed at least three of the regions or have won major tournaments in their journeys as a prerequisite for being a part of this very difficult course that is half lecture, half battle.

"Thank you all for your cooperation," the instructor speaks. Now taking out a few pages, she types the keys in the keyboard provided to her, punching in her username and password to enter into the system. Just a minute later, Giselle is met with the desktop and is ready to get to work. She hits the button leading to her documents and amongst the many different items in her lesson plan, she finds one of great importance at the moment. This one leads to a PowerPoint presentation. It's nothing that's designed to set the world on fire or make people think that she's certified in the software, even though she is.

No, this software can help assist her in preparing her introduction to the class, but based on the reaction from when she came in, many might doubt if she even needs one. Opening the file to the presentation, she shows everyone the important information first. "As many of you probably know, my name is Giselle Garner. I'm an Assistant Professor here at the Rustboro Academy and I work in the council at the school of battling and sometimes substitute as the acting gym leader for Rustboro City because of that.

"I've been an instructor and senior fellow at many Pokémon technical academies over the years and decided to parlay that experience into teaching folks the great science of training that will best fit each and every one of you. This course will be very note and list-intensive. You will have to memorize a lot of information and be able to regurgitate it back to me in many different forms. They include oral exams, written exams, and Pokémon battles, as well. None of your projects will be group projects. Miss Roxanne handles all of the group courses here."

As Giselle continues to orate from her PowerPoint and most of the male population in attendance, Conway just takes everything in from his spot far out in the crowd. The class is simply a lecture. Clearly, Giselle is not going to have much access to the students as much as many of them would like, because so many people have signed up for the class. Giselle would not have time for anything else.

Conway listens to the remainder of the lecture, remembering to sign the attendance book before leaving class, getting down e-mail addresses, office hours and numbers, and jotting down what books he will need for this course. He hears about the numerous teachers' assistants that will eventually work along with her to get most of her 'dirty work' done. He got the feeling when Giselle said the syllabus was fifteen pages that he should head back over to his dorm and start cracking open his book as soon as he can to prepare for what is likely the most deceptively difficult course he'll have to take this semester.

All he can think about as Giselle continues to orate from her platform below is the kind of fun he'll have once he's face deep in a black and white book that's likely a thousand pages of facts, notes and information about Pokémon; sixty percent of which he probably already knows with the other forty percent he'll have no choice but to sift through and discern on his own time.

'And I could've gone to the Orange Islands for the fall and winter season, no less,' he laments as he, among his less well to do classmates, attempt to decipher everything professor Garner is speaking at the moment. As they feel their heads all swirling collectively about as this new information comes at the pace of a lightning bolt, Conway's biggest thought reaches his brain and gives him a sentence that can best describe this whole experience with the lovely Giselle on day one of class.

'This is…my kind of fun.' Albeit sarcastic, it summarizes his will and drive to be the best through strategy and the thought process at large.

For him, it is one class down and about forty-five more remaining that may not even reach this level of complication. For everyone else, the countdown couldn't come sooner as they've found themselves trapped like flies in a spider's web.

She's a beautiful, attractive and sexy spider, no doubt, but still a spider in the end.

* * *

A/N: So we wrap up the first day of school here and go to the next day and the one course in the semester that Conway and Holly share together. What is it and who teaches it? Find out next chapter.

Until then…this is Rave! Don't forget to review this and all other chapters!


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